Setting your intentions isn’t as hard as one might think. It’s a critical part of living a more fulfilling life and if you’ve never done it, now is a great time to try as we approach a new year. Living intentionally doesn’t mean that you are perfect or you accomplish everything you want to – it’s more about knowing your purpose for each day and aligning what’s important to you. Here are four tips for making 2020 your most intentional year yet:
- Refine Your Productivity
It’s no secret we know how to waste a lot of time. With all the distractions we are presented with—like constant notifications on our phones to never-ending noise around us. From the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to sleep, we all have the same opportunity to be productive. The key is to learn to maximize your productivity in a set period of time. This might mean different things for different people and certainly there are times of the day that people tend to be most productive. Learn what works for you – maybe it’s taking frequent breaks throughout the workday to actually help you focus or maybe it’s turning everything off and sitting down with pen and paper for two hours. You could also try more innovative ways to refine your productivity such as online gaming. In fact, a recent survey about the lives of gamers shows that the study participants believe gaming fosters productivity and 54 percent of respondents playing online games at work. Take time to try different tactics to refine productivity and see what works best for you long-term.
- Get Into a Routine
An important part of making each day intentional is setting a routine that works for you. This will be different for everyone and can involve morning, afternoon and evening routines. Maybe it’s starting your day with light exercise and a balanced breakfast, followed by an hour of uninterrupted email-checking. Maybe for your evening routine, you know you have to cut your device off at least an hour before bed so you are able to fall asleep at a reasonable hour. Your routine can also determine how you work each day. Maybe you know you can’t leave your email open when you’re working on a big project. Or you find that going out for lunch throws your whole afternoon off. Whatever it is, spend time getting specific about your daily routine and then set a plan in place to stick to it. Of course there will be days where your whole routine is thrown off, and that’s ok. Get back to it the next day!
- Determine Your Win for the Day
Full to do lists rarely get accomplished in a single day. Make it your mission to determine three top things on your list that if completed, you could consider your day successful. This will help you from feeling defeated or disappointed that you didn’t check off every single thing. It’s important to rejoice when you accomplish those three tasks! Reward yourself and then move the ones you didn’t accomplish on to the next day and try again. You’ll find that by looking back on the week, you’ve had a lot of great wins.
- Connect With Those Around You
A huge part of being intentional every single day is connecting with those around you. It’s extremely easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and go about your day without truly noticing others and spending time with them. If you know you are guilty of this and it’s not second nature, take the steps to work it into your routine. Maybe it’s putting the phone or computer away for breakfast with your family every morning. Or maybe you make it a goal to connect with your partner over dinner every night. It could even be as simple as striking up a conversation to get to know your barista or lending a listening ear to your coworker. Don’t forget about the people around you and the joy they can bring to your day!
Of course there are many ways to be intentional and these are just a few. Really strive to follow these next year and you’ll be amazed at what happens!
